Liu Xing looked around him. All the Jin clan members were kneeling before him as if he were a mighty emperor. Some of them were sweating as if they were afraid he would crush them like bugs, while others successfully masked their expressions. Liu Xing, too, was masking his expression. He knew that as someone they feared, the Jin clan would likely treat him with respect—albeit one that stemmed from fear—and would try not to offend him. The situation was a little out of his depth. It was the first time people had knelt in fear before him.

The patriarch invited him inside. He promised the best banquet and party Liu Xing would ever experience, and everyone there assumed he would gladly go inside. However, Liu Xing shook his head, making people, whether young or old, become nervous.

"I am not going inside. Nor will I feast or drink. It's not because your clan is unworthy, but because I came with a single mission and don't intend to let anything distract me. I would appreciate it if you spoke to me directly. I am not a petty man who would be offended by slightly impolite words or tones."

Liu Xing looked around. He could sense the qi swirling in the air and emanating from the people around him. They were all cultivators. However, while the patriarch and the grand elders were at the peak of the Lock Opening realm, most were in the second or third stage. The girl kneeling beside a grand elder was in the first stage. Overall, they posed no threat to him. Still, he had another reason not to go inside. He was afraid they had laid traps. Even though his Eyes of Lightning had observed the entire clan from above and could not detect any formations, it was best to be cautious.

"Kneeling must be quite uncomfortable," Liu Xing said, lowering himself and sitting cross-legged on the ground. "So let's all sit here, on the ground, so that everyone is comfortable."

At that, the patriarch's eyes narrowed slightly, and the two grand elders looked at each other briefly. Similar expressions were shared among the other cultivators around him; however, when the patriarch similarly sat cross-legged on the ground, everyone followed him.

After a while, people settled into their positions as the flickering shadows of the torches danced around them.

"Senior Liu," began the patriarch of the Jin clan, "since you like people to speak frankly with you and promised not to take offense to our words, I will ask you this directly. While it is an honor for you to come here, what do you want from our clan?" The patriarch flashed a polite smile at him. "I will personally make sure that your wish comes true. However, this little clan is not a direct vassal of your sect. We're small, so many things are outside of our reach."

"You don't need to worry about it. You have what I want," Liu Xing looked straight into the eyes of the patriarch of the Jin clan, and then cycled his qi and projected it outward, lacing it with a heavy pressure.

As his qi suddenly spread, a man to his right, holding a torch in his right hand while resting his left on his lap, had his eyes suddenly widen. His back bent as if a great burden was placed on his shoulder, and his teeth began chattering as his face slowly twisted into absolute fear. Many people had similar expressions, and while the patriarch's smile remained, Liu Xing could see several beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The only two who looked calm were the old men flanking the patriarch. However, he knew it was not because they were unaffected, but because they had absolute control over their expressions.

It was true that he had said he wanted the patriarch to speak to him in a straightforward manner, but he also wanted to remind them that he was the one who had easily broken the defense of the Qing clan and could easily massacre them. It would be too troublesome if they forgot that fact.

"What I want is a pill, one rumored to be called the heaven-defying pill by all of you," he continued. "I've heard that you relocated your Alchemy Hall quite far from this place, to the seafloor. Is that pill there? If so, I would like to have it. Of course, since you have been good to me and haven't caused any trouble, I will compensate you."

Although Liu Xing appeared calm, he would have licked his lips if he could have. He had been thinking about how to approach the situation. He had enough power to take the Heaven Severing Pill from them by force. However, his offer to compensate them was better, as it would benefit both parties.

The patriarch grimaced. "So, it is indeed about that pill, huh," he sighed, then looked toward him with sharp eyes. "That pill is so precious that it is worth the risk of offending you."

Liu Xing cycled his qi faster, making the pressure in the area around him a bit heavier. Outwardly, Liu Xing's eyes narrowed and sharpened, as if he was ready to massacre them all. But inside, his heart was beating with excitement. The Heaven Severing Pill was indeed with the Jin clan! Truth be told, while he had a feeling that they indeed possessed that pill, there was still a chance that they did not, which would make the situation more complicated. However, it seemed his worry was unfounded. As for the fact that the Jin clan would risk offending him, what they needed was a little more... persuasion.

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"I am sorry, Senior Liu, but I cannot give you that pill," the patriarch continued, making gasps come out of people's mouths and reverberate through the air.

Liu Xing flashed a smile, one that was fake and hollow. "Oh, and why is that? Is that pill truly more precious than the safety of your clan? Think about it a bit more before you let out any other words."

The patriarch shook his head. "It's not that I wouldn't give it to you. It's because it is not in my possession. In fact, I don't know anything about that pill at all. Its shape, its color, its true effect, or even its name."

"You don't even know the name?" Liu Xing raised his eyebrows.

"Not because I don't want to, but because of the safety of myself and my people. That pill is mysterious and dangerous. Knowing just the name will get you cursed," the patriarch paused. "It's not merely superstition, either. The lead alchemist of my clan conducted research on it, and whoever calls the pill by its true name dies within three to ten days. The only exception is the master alchemist himself, but even he relied on some dangerous tricks that tamper with his memories."

Liu Xing pinched his chin. He didn't know that and began to wonder whether he had uttered the name Heaven Severing Pill or not. He didn't quite remember, but he was quite sure he had said the name. And yet he was still alive. He looked at the patriarch, wondering whether the man was bluffing.

"Tell me everything about it," he ordered.

The patriarch grimaced, saying that it should be a private conversation. However, Liu Xing insisted on sitting there, and so, the patriarch began his story. The beginning was almost identical to Brother Roe's story. A bolt of golden lightning had hit a mountain on this island. In fact, the exact position was not too far from the grassy land where they were camping. The two people who saw it were rivals from the Jin clan and the Qing clan. One was the Jin clan's niece, while the other was the Qing clan patriarch himself.

"Both of them said they were in the midst of a duel when that lightning struck the ground, although to this day, only the two of them know what kind of duel they were having. And considering that my niece is already... gone, the only one who knows is that infuriating man who currently leads the Qing clan."

After that, the Qing clan and the Jin clan got into a fight to get the golden grass. As he listened to the story, Liu Xing realized that the other clan members were also leaning forward, as if they too wanted to know the truth behind this rumor, especially the teenage girl sitting diagonally from him.

"The fight was chaotic, and one thing led to another until finally, the golden grass was consumed by two people. Coincidentally, they were the first two to see that golden grass."

"The Qing clan's current patriarch and your niece," Liu Xing added.

"Yes," the patriarch nodded.

"If what you said is true, then what about the pill? I thought the golden grass was the main ingredient, and yet, it was already consumed. How then could your alchemists create this heaven-defying pill?"

"That is indeed a mystery," the patriarch chuckled a little. "It's because everyone who knew, except for my lead alchemist, died. The only one who can answer your question is him."

"Where is he, then?" Liu Xing asked, his eyes looking around for someone who could potentially answer his questions. As his gaze swept the crowd, some people flinched, but no one looked like the alchemist the patriarch meant. As his eyes came back to the patriarch, he narrowed them. Thus far, everything had been smooth. However, it seemed that this night would not be as smooth as he had hoped.

"Let me be the one to answer your question, Senior Liu," said a stern yet polite voice. The one who spoke was the elderly person to the right of the patriarch. His white beard was so long that the end of it was coiling on his lap like a white, furry snake. Both of his eyebrows were also quite long, to the point that they framed his old, wrinkly face. "The alchemist in charge of this pill's research, Jin Wuyi, is my son. However, for about three years now, we have not been able to contact him. In fact, it's been three whole years since the last time we could contact our Alchemy Hall."

"And why is that?" Liu Xing said after thinking for a while. This story felt a little too convenient for the Jin clan. Was this their way of rejecting him?

"Our Alchemy Hall is located quite far away from this place. It's a building that needed a decade to plan," the patriarch puffed his chest. "It was one of the most sophisticated buildings in the Jin clan's history. Its defense consisted of natural barriers and complex array formations. It's a perfect place to conduct secret research."

"Something happened to this Alchemy Hall, I assume? Something that made Jin Wuyi unable to be contacted?"

"Indeed," nodded the elderly man with the long beard. "About three years ago, after my son claimed to have made a breakthrough in his research, twenty gigantic spirit beasts appeared. From our investigation, the Alchemy Hall still stands to this day. However, the spirit beasts are still circling it, waiting, as if hell-bent on killing my son."

"I believe it's the curse's doing," said the patriarch. Then he asked, "Senior Liu, would you still want this heaven-defying pill?"

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